THE PLOT:

‘Uganda Be Kidding Me’ is comedian Chelsea Handler’s latest collection of essays. This one deals with some of the many misadventures she has experienced while traveling. After reading ‘Uganda Be Kidding Me’ I find it difficult to believe that she can go anywhere without something going wrong in a hilarious way.
Much like Chelsea, I don’t care much for traveling, alone and her book illustrates pretty well why this is so. It is always more fun to share experiences, even bad experiences, with friends and family. Plus, when you travel with others, there is always someone else to blame.
From a safari to Africa to a birthday party in Montenegro, or a particularly rough ski vacation in Switzerland, you never know what will happen next when Chelsea hits the road. The final story about a day at home serves to prove that Chelsea does not have to go far to find misfortune. Her bodily issues in the Bahamas will probably be the highlight of the book for people who like that sort of thing, and in this case they might not be in the wrong.
‘Uganda Be Kidding Me’ is a breeze to listen to; I was able to finish the book in less than 12 hours. There is always something happening, and it is usually funny. This is especially true if you enjoy hearing stories of strange things that happen to intoxicated people.
‘Uganda Be Kidding Me’ is not going to be for everyone. I wouldn’t recommend loading up this audiobook the next time you and the kids hit the road to go to Grandma’s for Thanksgiving. But if you enjoy laughing at someone else’s colorful misfortune, you could do a lot worse than ‘Uganda Be Kidding Me’.

THE AUTHOR:

This is one of several books that Handler has written, and they all pretty much use the same essay format. Chelsea has a tendency to wander away from the point of her story to rant or recount a discussion/argument with one of her many companions, but these are generally pretty funny.
As hard as Chelsea can be on her friends and family, she still ends up coming off as likable because she is just as willing to make fun of herself. Without knowing her personally, it is safe for me to conclude that she is of the belief that you should be as willing to get as you are to give.

THE NARRATION:

Handler has a very up-tempo narration style. It feels like the listener sat down next to Chelsea and asked her to tell them a story and she complied. As fast and manic as it can sometimes be, she takes it to another level when recreating conversations (typically arguments) with her friends. If you enjoy Chelsea as a performer, you won’t be disappointed with her narration.
Chelsea is not the only one to narrate on this track, but the other performances aren’t really worth mentioning. One is meant to be a surprise, so I won’t spoil it.

THE PRODUCTION:

There is music to open and close the track, but otherwise there are no sound effects. Chapter stops on the Audible track match those found in the book. The audio is free of defect. Having access to the pictures described in a PDF is a welcome touch.

CONCLUSION:

I am not what you would call an avid fan of Chelsea Handler. I’ve only seen her E! show a few times, but I did enjoy it. Just like most everyone else, I skipped her NBC sitcom entirely. However, I did read and enjoy ‘My Horizontal Life’.
‘Uganda Be Kidding Me’ is in that same style and is quite entertaining. I was never bored, and was laughing often. If you are a Handler fan, then you are not going to be disappointed with ‘Uganda Be Kidding Me’.